Interviewee: Antonio Bienvenido Quinoa
Interviewer: Louis Rivera
Date: June, 2002
 

The best thing my family ever did was to leave Cuba and come to the U.S.

What is your full name?

Antonio Bienvenido Quinoa

What is your nationality?

Cuban

What is your date of birth?

March 22nd, 1962.

Where were you born?

Havana, Cuba.

When did you (move to the U.S./move from somewhere else in the U.S.) to Philadelphia?

I left Cuba and came to the U.S. in April of '62.

Why did you leave your country/State/former place of residence?

My parents left Cuba: fleeing Communism because of Castro's dictatorship

What did you like/dislike about your home/country?

What I, my parents, dislike Communism: they controlled the money, they controlled everything you did and told how to do it and when to do it.  There was not freedom.  What we like about our country before Communism was the climate, that's where our roots are - the origen of where we are from.

Why did you choose Philadelphia/U.S?

Because my father had a brother that lived here and made it easy for us to come stay with him until my father got a job and got on his own feet.

How did you travel here?/What type of transportation did you use/take to travel here? How would you change that?

Airplane.  I wouldn't change that - very convenient.  We like flying, it was easy for the trip.

How did you find a place to live in Philly?

First we moved in with my uncle and my father got a job and saved up money and rented a house and eventually saved up enough to buy a house.

With whom did you travel? [Who did you travel with?]

My mother, my brother and my father.

Give 1 thing you remember most about your hometown and why?

I don't remember because when we left I was only a month old when I left to the U.S. so I don't remember much of my home country.

How did your life change when you moved and what were the differences between the two places?

Say that again?  Different was freedom.  You no right to come and go as you pleased and my father was able to get a good paying job.  With the salary in Cuba was nothing compared to what they are here in the U.S.  More money here than Cuba.  So the quality of life was higher.

What did you expect about US/Philly?

We really didn't know what to expect.  You come from another country, you don't know how it's going to work out.  But eventually, you know, better than we thought it would be.

What did you come here to accomplish and what else you feel you still need to do?

Like I said, we come here to get away from Communism and what we accomplished was we considered this our home now.

What are the differences between when you came here and now?

Different?  When we first came here it was difficult, you know, we had to live with family and to depend on others but now the difference is we learned the language, learn to speak English, got good jobs, own our own house, own our own car so we're self sufficient.

What did you sacrifice/leave behind when you left?

You leave family, you leave your roots.  I mean we left a lot of uncles, aunts and cousins and your way of life more or less.  You lose a lot of that when you come to a new country.

What problems did you encounter coming to the US/Philly?

The biggest problem was the language barrier - learning how to speek English.  For my parents it was difficult to get the better job - you had to learn English so you more or less had to learn English as soon as possible.

How much money did you have and where did you get it when you came to Philly/US?

The money to come to Philly was lent by the same uncle who let us move in with them - my father's bother.

How did you adapt to your new environment?

Adapted quite well, like I said, we all learn to speak English, we all more or less have become Americanized and I consider this our home.

Why do you think it was worth all your changes?

I feel that if we would've stayed in Cuba then we would've never learned a second language, would have have an opportunity to be educated in one of the best education systems in the world and never would have opportunity to the high paying jobs.

What education did you have before/after you arrived?

Most people in Cuba are lucky if they make it to grade schol and now being here we all graduated high school and most of us went to college.

Do you [ever] regret moving? Why or why not?

I personally don't regret it, I'm glad my parents made the move to come here.  If not, I would never have made it as far as I have.  I believe in the Cuba, the resources being so limited, I would not have made it as far as I have.

What reason would/could make you go back to where you came from?

I wouldn't mind going back to visit to meet the family I lost contact with and to see my roots and to see where my people are from but I consider the U.S. home.  I don't think I would ever want to permanently leave here and go there.

Describe your first job here. If you didn't have one, who did you get money?

First job was in a factory situation.  But when we first got here we had no money and stayed with my uncle until my father got a job in a factory and then eventually he learned English and we bere able to apply and get a job with the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

Is there anything you would like to add?

No.  I think, more or less, it speaks for itself: I think the best thing my family ever did was to leave Cuba and come to the U.S.